


Orion and Sirius

by TheAnswersInTheWind



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Under the Red Hood
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Capes, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Bat Brothers, Bat Family, Batfamily Feels, Day At The Beach, Drifter Jason Todd, Gen, Homeless!Jason Todd, Homelessness, Jason Todd Needs A Hug, Jason comes home, Mild Language, One Shot, POV Tim Drake, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-19
Updated: 2019-08-19
Packaged: 2020-09-07 10:29:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20307997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAnswersInTheWind/pseuds/TheAnswersInTheWind
Summary: Tim meets a homeless teen named Jason and his dog while spending the day at the beach.





	Orion and Sirius

**Author's Note:**

> I found this on my computer and don't recall writing it. Tiny little one shot, enjoy!

“He’s friendly!” The words came shouted out across the sunset beach causing Tim to look up just as a ginger blur leapt at him, licking furiously.

“Red! Right here!” The dog suddenly stopped his genial assault and trotted back over to a man.

_ Teen actually _ , Tim thought as he got a closer look. The other teen looked to be maybe two years older than Tim’s 16 years with his same jet black hair paired with dark eyes that glinted in the fading sunlight.

Tim considered the dog as it sat on its haunches beside the stranger who just glared at the mongrel with an air of exasperation.

“This is-”

“A private beach, yeah, I know.” The man’s tone was harsher than Tim expected, he eyed Tim challengingly.

“Well, yeah I guess, but I was going to say ‘a red heeler’. Your dog’s a red heeler, right?.”

The older teen looked surprised, his stance shifted to something more akin to  _ on edge _ than  _ fight me _ . He glanced at the ginger murale dog beside him. The dog’s focus was intent on the sea birds hopping along the shore as he sat resolutely beside the teen.

“Not sure. He’s a stray. Fed ‘em once and now I can’t get rid of him.” Despite the harsh words, the teen rubbed the dog behind his two pointed ears affectionately.

“What’s his name?” Tim extended his hand slowly to the dog, with the back of his hand exposed for sniffing. While he wasn’t a big fan of pets in general, Tim was familiar with how to approach strange dogs.

“I uh… I call him Red cause of his color, but it’s not really his name.”

“Red seems as good a name as any...” Tim commented absently as the pooch approached to sniff his fingers. The dog, Red, licked his hand twice before rolling belly up, his eyes alight with expectation.

“Sell out.” The other teen sat on the sand across from Tim, with the ginger dog between them.

“I’m Tim.” Tim said softly, rubbing a soft spot behind Red’s ear so the dog’s back leg began to scratch involuntarily at the air.

“Jason.” The other teen spoke, his eyes fixed on the sunset waters.

“I’m guessing you’re a drifter?”

Jason’s gaze cut to Tim’s at the younger teen’s attempt at small talk.

“Why do you say that?”

“You’re wearing busted chucks and a stained t-shirt on one of the most exclusive beaches in Cali. Not to mention the backpack.” Tim nodded to the black pack Jason still had slung over one shoulder. “I meet a lot of people out here who’ve taken to the road.”

“You make it sound like a choice.”

“Was it?” Tim watched the other teen closely.

“Homelessness isn't a fucking adventure.” Jason muttered, lifting his hands off of Red to rub his eyes. The dog rolled over and stood quickly, shook the sand from his coat and curled up in front of Jason, his head on the teen’s leg.

Jason’s lips shifted into a small soft smile that Tim couldn’t look away from. Sighing, Jason glanced up the beach past the Drake family Vacation house over towards where the Wayne Villa sat up on the cliff.

“I… The beach reminds me of home. I wanted to stop by before moving on.”

“And it’s March, so most of the one-percenters aren’t at their fancy houses with staff to guard their private beaches.”

Jason laughed at Tim’s blunt summary. “Definitely a bonus rich kid.”

The drifters who came through were always interesting but Tim found Jason downright compelling.

“Want to build a fire?”

“Shouldn’t you be getting back to your one-percent parents?”

Tim shrugged, “They won’t mind.”  _ They’re in Marrakesh for the month, Singapore the month before. January was Paris. _

The two teens collected driftwood together, combing the stretch of beach that belonged to the Drakes. Red loped up and down the sandy shore with a giant branch hanging from his mouth. Jason made half-hearted attempts to grab for the branch every few minutes which only seemed to make Red a little bouncier.

“Does he know any tricks?” Tim watched as Jason made another swipe and Red danced out of reach.

“Probably.” Jason shrugged.

“How long have you had him?”

“I gave him the sausage off a slice of dumpster pizza back in November. Been mooching my food ever since.” Red cocked his head at Jason and the teen added, “Guess it’s a fair trade though. Keeps me warm at night.” Jason spoke candidly about his homelessness, yet Tim could see the other boy’s shoulders rise like a defensive wall.

“Seems to like playing ‘Keep Away’ too much to be good at fetch.” Tim remarked, reaching down for another stick to add to their pile. Jason just shrugged and kept walking.

They built the fire quickly after a short disagreement on how to structure the sticks. It was warm by the fire and peaceful as the sky grew dark enough for the first stars to appear.

“You're camping out here tonight?”

Tim felt Jason glance at him.

“Think your folks’ll mind?”

“No.”

“Then yeah, I’ll stay here tonight.”

The silence grew between them as Tim decided whether or not to ask his next question.

“Mind if I invite a friend? He’s back from college this week – spring break or something – and would be bummed to miss out on beach camping. He’d love Red too.”

Jason was quiet for a beat before shrugging, “It’s your beach rich kid.”

Tim pulled out his phone. Jason didn’t seem all that excited to introduce another ‘rich kid’ to their impromptu camping, but Tim could see why. Camping for Tim was entertainment. Camping for Jason was survival.

Sending off a quick text, Tim stared back up at the clear sky.

“There’s Orion and Sirius.” He pointed towards the horizon.

“The hunter and the dog star.”

“Appropriate, no?”

“I look like a hunter to you?”

It was Tim’s turn to shrug, “I imagine he spent a good deal of time traveling between hunts. Probably slept on beaches with strangers.”

“Homer didn’t mention any of that in the Iliad.”

“No way Orion is in the Iliad.”

“He’s referenced. Sirius too.”

“I had no idea.” Tim looked over at Jason who turned and smirked in the twilight.

“What they teaching you at your fancy school, rich kid?”

“Apparently not obscure trivia on constellations and Greek epics.” Tim grinned back.

Red suddenly stood and stared into the night, poised to bark until Jason laid a gentle hand on top of the dog’s head.

They each turned at the sound of footsteps as another figure approached. “Tim? I got a pizza like you asked and a couple hot dogs. Dami was adamant that the dog not eat pizza – something about carnivores, dairy, and digestive systems.”

Dick materialized out of the night, holding two boxes of pizza in one hand and cloth grocery bag in the other.

“I’m surprised Damian didn’t come charging out here to meet the dog.” Tim made grabby hands for the bag, finding a thermos of coffee inside.  _ Thanks be unto you, Alfred Pennyworth. _

“He still might. He was working on something for Bruce when I left.”

Dick set the pizza’s down and glanced over towards Jason.

“Dick, this is Jason and his dog Red. Jason...” Tim looked at the other teen and realized Jason had gone pale.

“Jason?” Dick’s voice was pinched. He was frozen, like he didn’t trust himself to move.

“Dick.” Jason’s grunted, his hand anchored on Red’s side.

Tim glanced back and forth between the two, “I take it you know each other?”

Jason stood, “This was a mistake.” He shouldered his backpack and Red stood to follow.

“Wait, Jason. Just… Stay for some pizza. Alfred made it, wood oven, homemade everything. Grew the tomatoes himself, you know how he is. The only thing he bought was the boxes.”

Jason was rigid, his back to the fire, to Dick, for a moment too long. The desperation on Dick’s face was painful and Tim wondered if he’d made a mistake inviting Dick in the first place.

Then Jason turned, “I’ll stay for the pizza.” Dick beamed and practically shoved a box into Jason’s lap as the teen sat back on the sand.

As they ate the tension drained away. Dick launched into a song and Jason quietly came in with the harmony. Dick told campfire stories while Tim and Jason competed to point out every plot hole until Dick gave up and fell backward into the sand. They entered into a contest to see who could teach Red to rollover the fastest until the hot dog chunks ran out.

Sated and sleepy, the three watched the stars overhead, pointing out satellites and shooting stars.

“Why’s he named Red?” Dick asked, breaking a comfortable silence.

“His fur’s red dickhead.”

“Yeah, but he’s also got that cool white blaze on his head, looks like an arrowhead. You should have named him Arrow.”

“I’m not naming the dog. He probably had a name before we met.”

“Red’s not his name?”

“Fuck’n hell Dick, no. Red’s his color. I didn’t name him.”

“Why not?”

Jason sighed. “You name things you plan on keeping.”

Tim perked up, “You didn’t plan on keeping him?”

Jason groaned and didn’t answer for a while. Tim felt Jason petting the dog that laid between them on the sand. At last he said quietly, “He’s a stray. He came one day and I thought he'd be gone the next. I don’t have a great track record for people staying. Didn’t want to add some fleabag to the list.”

“Jason...” Dick sounded utterly wrecked, his face hard to make out in the din.

“It’s true.”

“You could come back Jay. You know you could. Just for tonight?” Tim could hear hope and fear warring in Dick’s tone.

“He’d never let me leave if I did.”

“‘He’ as in Bruce or ‘He’ as in Alfred.” 

Jason exhaled resigned, “It’s been over a year Dick.”

“You’re still his son.”

“Adopted.”

_ Adopted? _ Tim looked at Jason’s silhouette.  _ And he was giving me crap for being a ‘rich kid’! He’s Bruce Wayne’s kid! _

“Doesn’t matter. Not to any of us.”

“Matters to me.”

Dick shifted quickly, his frame better facing Jason’s. “I’ve half a mind to dognap Arrow and make you follow to get him back.”

“You did not just name the dog.”

“Arrow’s as good a name as any!”

Tim laughed, “Merge the names, how about Red Arrow.”

Dick’s smile gleamed pearly in the moonlight, “I rather like the name Nightwing.”

“The dog will not be named after your gamer-handle!”

“What about Harper?”

“What? Like Roy?” Jason asked, sounding skeptical.

“Oh! Roy would be a great name! Sounds enough like ‘Red’ that he won’t be too confused when you start calling him something different!” Dick was enjoying himself too much and Tim could feel Jason getting wound up beside him.

“The dog doesn’t need a name!”

Red leapt up and began barking at all the excitement, seemingly aware of the discussion was about him. Red wagged his fluffy tail within inches of the fire and the three of them all lunged to grab him before he burned himself. Red darted out from Dick’s arms, bopping Jason in the nose with his tail and licking Tim across the face before running off. They watched the dog run energetic circles and bite at the moonlit waves as if his tail hadn't been in imminent danger only seconds before. Crisis averted, they all collapsed onto the sand in a fit of laughter.

When they quieted, Dick said softly, “Come home. Just for tonight Jay. Please.”

Jason sighed and whispered, “Just tonight.”

Tim smiled to himself. It was hard to feel like he hadn’t done something downright heroic.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
